JUSTIN Tipuric narrowly missed out on being named man of the match after a fine performance on the openside in Wales’ ugly win over Italy.

It was the young Ospreys flanker’s first Test start after winning three caps as a replacement.

His was a tough act to follow, coming in for Wales’ world-class No 7 and captain Sam Warburton, who missed the Azzurri match with a knee injury.

But Tipuric showed at the weekend he is more than an able understudy for Warburton, now that Martyn Williams, on 99 caps, is out of the picture.

Hailing from Trebanos in the Swansea Valley, he comes from the same small village that produced Wales’ 1988 Triple Crown captain Bleddyn Bowen and the great Robert Jones.

Tipuric, the surname comes from his Croatian grandfather, was impressive in the loose as well as grafting in defence against Italy.

He insisted he’ll continue to keep his head down and work hard to keep Warburton on his toes with the Grand Slam decider against France to come on Saturday.

"Sam is our captain and it’s going to be hard to keep that jersey with him there," Tipuric said.

"He has made a name for himself – look at what he’s done.

"I have just got to keep working on my game and enjoy my rugby with the Ospreys. I’ve got to be patient.

"We both push each other to become better players.

"We know, if we’re playing and make a mistake, there’s someone to come on – we know we have got to perform."

And Tipuric believes playing the whole match against the Azzurri will only stand him in good stead.

"You’re part of it when you’re on the bench but it’s obviously a bit of a different feeling when you start a match," he said.

"If I am lucky enough to be involved against France, it does give me an advantage of having had 80 minutes under my belt against Italy.

"You can see the fans and hear them screaming you on. I loved it.

"I just try and go on the pitch to enjoy myself and prove myself as a player.

"We knew Italy were going to be a tough outfit.

"You can never underestimate them but we had the win that matters."